solid-compose-with-tanstack-form

name	solid/compose-with-tanstack-form
description	Editable cells in `@tanstack/solid-table` with `@tanstack/solid-form`. The table is the layout primitive; the form owns the state. Build the form with `createFormHook` + `createFormHookContexts` to register reusable field components (`TextField`, `NumberField`, `SelectField`), source `data` from `form.state.values.data` via a reactive `get data()` getter, and render `<form.AppField name={...}>` inside each column's `cell`.
type	composition
library	tanstack-table
framework	solid
library_version	9.0.0-alpha.48
requires	["row-selection","column-definitions"]
sources	["examples/solid/with-tanstack-form/src/App.tsx","examples/solid/with-tanstack-form/src/form.tsx"]

Compose with @tanstack/solid-form

Editable spreadsheet-style cells. The table doesn't track values; the form does. The table just lays out which input goes in which cell.

Install

pnpm add @tanstack/solid-form zod

Step 1 — Register field components with createFormHook

// form.tsx
import {
  createFormHook,
  createFormHookContexts,
  useStore,
} from '@tanstack/solid-form'
import { For, Show } from 'solid-js'

export const { fieldContext, useFieldContext, formContext, useFormContext } =
  createFormHookContexts()

function TextField() {
  const field = useFieldContext<string>()
  const errors = useStore(field().store, (s) => s.meta.errors)
  return (
    <div>
      <input
        value={field().state.value}
        onInput={(e) => field().handleChange(e.currentTarget.value)}
        onBlur={() => field().handleBlur()}
      />
      <Show when={errors().length > 0}>
        <div class="error">{errors().join(', ')}</div>
      </Show>
    </div>
  )
}

function NumberField() {
  const field = useFieldContext<number>()
  const errors = useStore(field().store, (s) => s.meta.errors)
  return (
    <div>
      <input
        type="number"
        value={field().state.value}
        onInput={(e) => field().handleChange(Number(e.currentTarget.value))}
        onBlur={() => field().handleBlur()}
      />
      <Show when={errors().length > 0}>
        <div class="error">{errors().join(', ')}</div>
      </Show>
    </div>
  )
}

function SelectField() {
  const field = useFieldContext<string>()
  return (
    <select
      value={field().state.value}
      onChange={(e) => field().handleChange(e.currentTarget.value)}
    >
      <For each={['single', 'complicated', 'relationship']}>
        {(s) => <option value={s}>{s}</option>}
      </For>
    </select>
  )
}

function SubmitButton(props: { label: string }) {
  const form = useFormContext()
  return (
    <button
      type="submit"
      disabled={!form.state.canSubmit || form.state.isSubmitting}
    >
      {form.state.isSubmitting ? 'Submitting...' : props.label}
    </button>
  )
}

export const { useAppForm } = createFormHook({
  fieldComponents: { TextField, NumberField, SelectField },
  formComponents: { SubmitButton },
  fieldContext,
  formContext,
})

field is itself an accessor in @tanstack/solid-form — it's field().state.value, not field.state.value. Same accessor-call pattern as table state.

Step 2 — Build the table with form-driven cells

The trick: get data() reads from form.state.values.data. The form owns the rows; the table reflects them.

import {
  createTable,
  createColumnHelper,
  rowPaginationFeature,
  columnFilteringFeature,
  createPaginatedRowModel,
  createFilteredRowModel,
  filterFns,
  tableFeatures,
  FlexRender,
} from '@tanstack/solid-table'
import { z } from 'zod'
import { createMemo, For } from 'solid-js'
import { useAppForm } from './form'

const features = tableFeatures({
  rowPaginationFeature,
  columnFilteringFeature,
  filteredRowModel: createFilteredRowModel(),
  paginatedRowModel: createPaginatedRowModel(),
  filterFns,
})

const columnHelper = createColumnHelper<typeof features, Person>()

function App() {
  const form = useAppForm(() => ({
    defaultValues: { data: makeData(100) },
    onSubmit: ({ value }) => console.log(value),
    validators: { onChange: formSchema },
  }))

  // columns depend on `form` (reactive). Wrap in createMemo for stable identity per inputs.
  const columns = createMemo(() =>
    columnHelper.columns([
      columnHelper.accessor('firstName', {
        header: 'First Name',
        cell: ({ row }) => (
          <form.AppField
            name={`data[${row.index}].firstName`}
            validators={{ onChange: z.string().min(1) }}
          >
            {(field) => <field.TextField />}
          </form.AppField>
        ),
      }),
      columnHelper.accessor('age', {
        header: 'Age',
        cell: ({ row }) => (
          <form.AppField
            name={`data[${row.index}].age`}
            validators={{ onChange: z.number().min(0) }}
          >
            {(field) => <field.NumberField />}
          </form.AppField>
        ),
      }),
      columnHelper.accessor('status', {
        header: 'Status',
        cell: ({ row }) => (
          <form.AppField name={`data[${row.index}].status`}>
            {(field) => <field.SelectField />}
          </form.AppField>
        ),
      }),
    ]),
  )

  const table = createTable({
    features,
    get columns() {
      return columns()
    },
    get data() {
      return form.state.values.data
    },
  })

  return (
    <form
      onSubmit={(e) => {
        e.preventDefault()
        void form.handleSubmit()
      }}
    >
      <table>
        <thead>
          <For each={table.getHeaderGroups()}>
            {(hg) => (
              <tr>
                <For each={hg.headers}>
                  {(h) => (
                    <th>
                      <FlexRender header={h} />
                    </th>
                  )}
                </For>
              </tr>
            )}
          </For>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <For each={table.getRowModel().rows}>
            {(row) => (
              <tr>
                <For each={row.getAllCells()}>
                  {(c) => (
                    <td>
                      <FlexRender cell={c} />
                    </td>
                  )}
                </For>
              </tr>
            )}
          </For>
        </tbody>
      </table>
      <form.AppForm>
        <form.SubmitButton label="Save" />
      </form.AppForm>
    </form>
  )
}

Why this layering works

• form.state.values.data is the source of truth. Editing a <input> calls field().handleChange(...), which mutates the form's data array.
• get data() { return form.state.values.data } subscribes the table to the form. Each keystroke flows: input → form store → data() accessor → table → new row model → <For each={...}> repaints only what changed (Solid's fine-grained reactivity).
• The table doesn't know about editing. No editingRowId state, no inline cell mode toggles. Each row index is always editable; the column cell renderer chooses what to draw.

Adding rows

const addRow = () => form.pushFieldValue('data', emptyPerson())
const removeRow = (i: number) => form.removeFieldValue('data', i)

Combined with manualPagination: false (the default), the table picks up the new row automatically.

Combining with row-selection

If you want "delete selected rows":

1. Register rowSelectionFeature in features.
2. Add a checkbox display column. Use row.getIsSelected() / row.getToggleSelectedHandler().
3. On delete: read table.getSelectedRowModel().rows, find each row.index, call form.removeFieldValue('data', index) (highest index first to avoid shifting).

Failure modes

CRITICAL — field.state.value instead of field().state.value

field is an accessor. Call it. Same trap as table.state().

CRITICAL — data: form.state.values.data without the getter

Same Solid pitfall as everywhere else. Reads once at construction. Use a getter so edits flow through.

HIGH — columns array not memoized when it references form

columns literally embeds <form.AppField> per column. If columns is a plain array re-evaluated per render (or per data change), the table sees a new columns identity and recomputes column metadata. Wrap in createMemo.

HIGH — using row identity that doesn't survive add/remove

If you set getRowId: (row, index) => String(index), then deleting row 0 turns old row 1 into new row 0 — the input that was focused jumps to a different person. Either accept that, or give each person a stable id (row.id) and getRowId: (row) => row.id.

MEDIUM — focus lost on every keystroke

Almost always caused by inline-defined cell components whose identity changes each render. Define TextField / NumberField / SelectField once (via createFormHook), reference them via field.TextField, and let <form.AppField> own the field lifecycle. The example pattern handles this.

MEDIUM — re-running validation on every cell render

<form.AppField validators={{ onChange: z.something() }}> should reference a schema that has stable identity. Inline z.string().min(1) per render creates a new schema each time; pull it to module scope or memoize.

LOW — submitting with stale rows

Filtering or sorting affects what the table displays, not what the form holds. form.handleSubmit() submits all rows in form.state.values.data regardless of the table's current filter. If you only want visible rows, map through table.getRowModel().rows and pull their indexes.